It was 10:15 on Monday morning as the Chief strolled in late.
Unshaved, suit wrinkled, looking as if he'd been up all night.
"Larabee, get me a cup of really hot, black coffee" moaned the Chief.
"Up late Chief?" asked Larabee.
The Chief slumped into his chair and rubbed his temples in a clockwise
rotation, "Every year I tell myself that I wouldn't be going to the
graduation party. But then I always end up going anyway. I haven't
been to bed yet"
Larabee gave a stifled laugh then placed a folder in front of the
Chief. "You got these papers to sign and you have four appointments
today."
"Cancel all my appointments. I don't want to see anyone today unless
it's the President himself," said the Chief.
"Oh, well I… ummmm" Larabee paused as he looking toward his office.
"What is it Larabee?" asked the Chief impatiently while rubbing his
temples.
"Your 10 am appointment is already here to see you"
The Chief gave an exasperated sigh, "Who is it?"
"Agent 99" answered Larabee
The Chief stopped rubbing his head, "Agent 99? I'm not familiar with
that number."
"She's one of the new agents sir." informed Larabee.
"Why would she be seeing me?" The Chief just sighed "Fine, since she
is already here, send her in. I'll see what she wants then send her on
her way."
Larabee nodded as he left then returned quickly with a cup of coffee
for the Chief and Agent 99 by his side.
"Here's your coffee Chief" Larabee set the cup and 99's file next to
the Chief. As Larabee turned to leave he leaned over to 99 "Good
luck" he whispered.
99 stood in front of his desk waiting for some sort of
acknowledgement. The Chief sat, eyes closed, as he hovered over his
coffee cup not saying anything. 99 decided to make the first move.
"Good morning Chief" chortled 99.
The Chief held out his hand to stop her from saying anymore till he
had a drink of coffee. 99 stood patiently till the Chief had his
first sip.
The Chief smelled the aromatic coffee then took a deep drink from his
cup. He then took a deep breath and let it out as a sigh, "Ok, what
did you need to see me about agent…ahhh."
"99 sir"
"Oh yes, Agent 99. Please make this quick, I'm going home to get some
sleep" yawned the Chief.
"That was some graduation party wasn't it?" smiled 99.
He answered her smile with a mischievous grin of his own, "Yes and I
have to tell you…" the Chief stopped and got serious, "Can we get to
the point of why you are here?"
99 snapped to attention, "I'd like to volunteer for the mission on
Thursday sir."
The Chief raised an eyebrow, "And what mission would that be Agent 99?
"The one that has to do with the KAOS kingpin, Mr. Big and the
Inthermo Ray?." 99 told him.
The Chief just closed his eyes and brought his fingers around to the
bridge of his nose.
"Just how did you know about that mission? That was highly classified
information."
"Well…" 99, stammered, her confusion growing. "I…I… I don't feel I can
reveal my sources sir."
"Your sources huh?" The Chief narrowed his eyes at Larabee in the
outer office. Larabee swallowed hard then grabbed a file off his desk
and quickly exited. "Don't worry, you don't have to" the Chief replied
in a disgusted tone.
The Chief leaned forward in his chair. "First off Agent 99, you just
graduated spy school yesterday. All newly graduated agents are
assigned courier duty for the course of three months then after your
evaluation, I will place you on a mission. And secondly, you are the
fourth rookie agent that has seen me about this case." The Chief
folded his hands in front of him, "Did Agent 86 ask for you to be on
this case?"
99 started to squirm, "Well… no, not exactly."
"Well then tell me 'exactly' why do you want to be on this mission?"
the Chief said with a gruff tone.
99 began to shift from side to side and had to think fast, "You see
Chief, Agent 86 filled in to teach our tailing class Thursday and
Friday when Professor Radison was out and when I found out that there
was a big mission coming up…just the chance to work with him…I mean
86, he's one of the top agents at CONRTOL. It would be… well…I just
thought…"
As he sat intently listening to 99 babble on, it was all starting to
fall into place, "That explains the visits from those three women
agents on Friday. That's the last time I let 86 fill in for an
instructor," the Chief said in a low voice to himself.
For a second, she lowered her eyes under his scrutinizing gaze. Then
she looked fiercely back in his eyes " Chief, I can guarantee you that
I am ONLY interested in the mission." stated 99 with confidence.
"Oh you are?" The Chief wasn't buying it for one minute. "As
fascinating as Agent 86 might seem to you, the fact remains that you
are a rookie agent" he said as he closed her file, "and besides 86 is
working with Fang on this one".
"Fang? Who is Fang?" questioned 99.
" K 13." the Chief simply stated as he began to sign the papers that
Larabee set in front of him earlier.
"Oh yes, I remember reading about him." 99 said in a jealous tone.
The Chief lifted his head, "You what?"
" Ahhhh, nothing. But Chief… he's a dog." Scoffed 99.
"Don't let the fact that he's a dog fool you. K 13 is an excellent
agent. He and Max graduated spy school together "
99 gave a half-hearted smile, "That's nice but doesn't Agent 86 want
to work with a human partner?"
"86 hasn't found the right partner to work with yet. He's kind of…"
the chief struggled to explain "well… let's just say Max is a 'special
needs' agent."
99 was starting to see that this was turning into a no-win situation.
"So there is nothing on this assignment I can do? She said softly with
a hint of sadness in her voice.
"The only assignment on this case is for a male chauffeur to drive
Agent 86 to various locations"
99 rolled her eyes, "Don't tell me K13 has a license to drive too?"
"Of course not, now you're being ridiculous," he scolded.
"Sorry Chief, ok well… I could drive him then" 99 quickly said.
The Chief gave her a double look. "I don't think you heard what I
said, the assignment calls for a MALE chauffeur. You don't exactly fit
that description 99"
99 reached over his desk and opened her file in front of him. "If
you'll look at my file, you'll see I was top in my class for disguises."
The Chief had to give her credit, she was spunky and persistent not
wanting to give up. He sighed as he read through her file. His eyebrow
arched as he flipped through the pages.
'Very impressive Agent 99. Yes, very impressive indeed.
I see you were a top student in all the spy courses."
"Oh please Chief, I just want a chance to prove myself," begged 99.
The Chief looked deep into her bright blue eyes. He couldn't help but
see straight down into her soul. There was something about her that
read smart and loyal.
The kind of agent he knew he could depend on to make the right
decisions in a moments notice. He could tell she had what it took to
be a top notch CONTROL agent.
"I want you to know that I don't make exceptions Agent 99" the Chief
stated firmly, "but your file is excellent and you were given top
marks by your instructors. It might be good for Max to get used to
working with someone other than Fang." The Chief hesitated for just a
moment.
"Ok Agent 99, I'll give you a shot at this. Remember you are just
driving Agent 86. You don't get involved or get in his way unless
absolutely necessary. You follow Agent 86 instructions and do only
what he tells you to do. You understand?" he instructed in an
authoritative tone.
"Oh yes Chief, I understand. Thank you Chief, Thank you"
she said enthusiastically
The Chief started to pick up the phone. "I'll let Max know…"
99 quickly cut in, "If you don't mind Chief, I was wondering if you
wouldn't tell Agent 86 that I was assigned to this case just yet"
The Chief gave her with a quizzical look.
"I mean, I'd like to see if my disguise will fool him." added 99.
"Hmmm," he said setting the phone down, "that would be a good test to
see just how well you can disguise yourself. I'll let Max know that
Agent 99 will contact him at the station, but that's all I'll tell
him. You'll use the password, 'New York Mets win doubleheader' He will
fill you in on the mission."
"Thank you Chief, I won't let you down" 99 said as she shook his hand.
Underneath her calm, collected exterior, 99 felt a thrill of
excitement inside. She was going to be given a chance to catch one of
the most sought after men in the world of espionage… and of course,
Mr. Big too.
To be continued…..